Insight Guides - Insight Guides Explore Mallorca

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destinations many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also excursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Food and Drink box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised AZ of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafs and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, plus a handy language guide and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

2017 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Recommended Routes For...

Art collections

Discover the wonders of Palmas top three art galleries ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Family adventures

Take an alternative approach to kids theme parks and head instead for Mallorcas extensive network of caves and grottoes ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Foodie paradise

Shop for edible treasures at Palmas atmospheric delis and sweet shops ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

The great outdoors

Snorkel the deserted island of Sa Dragonera off the southwest coast ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Historical legacy

Soak up Palmas Arabic provenance and old Jewish quarter ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Literary genius

Discover the Mallorca of George Sand and Robert Graves ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Mallorcan architecture

Explore the ancient heart of Palma ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Surf, sand and sun

Escape the crowds at some of the islands most hidden beaches ().

Robert Harding

Explore Mallorca

Often spoken of as the pearl of the Mediterranean, Mallorca lures with sun, sand and sea, but also has plenty of other charms to recommend it, from a cosmopolitan capital to a stunning interior made for active exploration.

Palma has more than enough to offer for an entertaining long weekend, but its the other Mallorca, the road less travelled, that keeps people coming back for more. Whether youre looking for secluded sands or hip clubs to dance the night away in, remote country villages or soaring mountain tops, five-star golf courses or pristine diving in crystal-clear waters, the biggest of the Balearic Islands has something to suit everyone.

Village of Dei

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Geography and layout

The Balearic Islands were formed nearly 100 million years ago when limestone bedrock was forced upwards, creating a peninsula jutting out to sea from the present-day Spanish coast around Valencia. Mallorca is the biggest of the four islands Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera are the other three and offers travellers a diverse landscape: long, sandy beaches and isolated rocky coves are framed by sapphire-blue seas and backed by dramatic mountain peaks, while olive groves and vineyards fringe the sparsely inhabited interior plains. Not for nothing is the island often referred to as the Spanish mainland in miniature. Mallorca may be the largest of the Balearic Islands, but it is not a big place. It has more than 550km (325 miles) of coastline, but at its widest point Cap de Sa Mola in the southwest to Capdepera in the northeast it is only 100km (60 miles) across; at its narrowest, from the Badia dAlcdia in the north to the Badia de Palma in the south, it is just half that distance.